TWEENER MINISTRIES

The Mission of Tweener Ministries is to promote literacy and positive moral values among children ages 8-12.

Our mission is fulfilled through three programs: 
            (1) the Tweener Time Mentoring Program that engages adults in assisting tweeners (8-12) in reading, 
            (2) the Tweener Time Chapter Book Competition that challenges high school authors and artists create adventure books for tweeners, and 
           (3) the Tweener Time Book program that provides books with high moral values to tweeners and to individuals with limited reading ability.

"That is a monumental goal for a fledgling organization, but that is what we are called to do."

Dr. Marvin G. Baker, president, was speaking to members of the Board of Directors of this newly-formed organization. It was August, 2005, and they met to formalize a ministry that had been developing since the late 1990s.

When the concept first captured his imagination, Baker was serving as the Operations Manager of a Wesleyan mega church. He thought that would be his last assignment, but God had other plans. His daughter, Vangie Coleson, was working at the Nazarene Publishing House in Kansas City and asked a provocative question she was certain would excite and engage her father. "Could we write the New Testament at a level kids could read on their own with understanding?" An affirmative response got the project started.

Biblical Literacy is the Goal

They had a goal: helping tweeners to become biblically literate even before they could intellectually understand the family Bible. "Scripture is the best weapon kids can have," Baker declared.

Before she died in December, 2001, Coleson lay in a coma for two years, the result of a single car accident. The entire project seemed to be lost, but God had other plans because He, too, is concerned about Biblical literacy. 

Paul Trittin, a former Assemblies of God missionary and Christian publisher, moved to the area and in God's providence he and Dr. Baker joined their creative talents and did consulting work with para-church ministries. Trittin first learned about the unpublished manuscript for Mark's Story at Vangie's funeral. After reading their manuscript he voiced this challenge, "Why don't you start over and write it as if Mark was telling his grandchildren about his friend, Jesus?"

Gospel Storyteller Series

Building biblical literacy became 'his vision,' and in 2002 as a tribute to his daughter, a thousand copies of Mark's Story were printed. Baker had a sense of closure, but the thousand copies were gone in 12 months, and there had been no sales plan.  If it had meaning only for tweeners, Baker would have been more than satisfied. But Mark's Story wasn't just for kids. Strangers mentioned its value for older seniors, new Christians, and prison ministries. 

"When will you be doing Matthew?" and related questions about more 'Gospel stories' came from members of the First Presbyterian Church in Grand Haven, Michigan. With encouragement and friendly nudging the Gospel Storyteller Series was born. Matthew's Story was the next book to be written. 

Literacy Is More Than Reading

Baker had spent years teaching in elementary, junior and senior high schools, and in colleges and universities. He had encouraged hundreds of students to use their creativity and write. His undergraduate majors in English and music, his doctoral research in Motivation for the Release of Creativity through Creative Writing, and post-doctoral study in the facilitation of instruction touched all phases of communication. His professional career centered on promoting literacy for children and youth.

Concern for reading was capturing headlines throughout the nation. Memories of his research in remedial reading and his state-wide survey about creative writing for the National Teachers of English made Baker restless. He realized if they can't read, they will never read the Bible. That awareness resulted in the Baker Trittin Press, a publishing company committed to reaching
reluctant readers - usually boys.

In 2005 the publishing company gave a copy of one of the 'tweener' books to fourth grade students in a local Christian school. They would be used in a test program to see how students responded. The day they were presented to the students the teacher for the pilot group asked, "What do you have for teachers?"

Building a Literacy Program

Hearing the question Baker realized that teachers don't need more work, so he went back to his desk to produce some help. Because literacy is more than reading, the program must provide more than a reading assignment. He developed questions - comprehension and discussion questions - for each chapter of each book in the program. This provided a basis for a 'library chat,' the opportunity to talk about what they have read. That supported his philosophy "that if it's worth reading, it's worth talking about.” The opportunity to exchange ideas about what they had read was an added reason for reading carefully.

The Tweener Literacy Program now targeted reading, listening, and speaking (conferencing). Sir Francis Bacon's description of the literate human included one more method of communicating - writing. According to the famous English author, "Reading makes a full man; conferencing makes a ready man; writing makes an exact man." What could Tweener Ministries do about writing? 

The Tweener Time International Chapter Book Competition was the answer to that question.